It's a phone ... but what is it?

Hardware Librem 5
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image
Hand terminal from The Expanse. I’d like to think the L5 will lead directly to it.

3 Likes
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I’m wait late to this show, but if we are discussing what the Librem 5 should be called, I would argue that calling it a UMPC would make the most sense. It is the ultimate vision of that. Anybody here remember the OQO 01, 02 and the whole niche of products it started?

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How about Fone (Free phONE), or freephone?

1 Like
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Phonux, maybe?

3 Likes
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GNU/Phonux

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Teletux …

1 Like
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PenguinTRON …

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The L5 is what it is!

1 Like
111

I prefer to call it a GNU/Linux phone to emphasize it’s designed for GNU/Linux, i.e. for desktop OS. It also means a general purpose device. It also brings the point of GNU vs Linux.

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L5phone
LiPhone

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Pocket emacs

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Now, someone should collect the names here and create a poll :slight_smile:

2 Likes
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All 1000 of them?

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As the creator of the poll decides of course. Perhaps less.

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I think freephone or free phone is pretty good, because it puts the accent on its character of liberty. It will be difficult to describe everything this device(s) can be in a compact fancy term.

Pro:

  1. It tells us that the device and its users are free.
  2. It tells us that it is a phone.
  3. It is build of just two words which could be written without a separating space.
  4. It basically consists of just two syllables.
  5. It is a alliteration on a phonetic level.
  6. It is positively connotated t be free.
  7. Not to technicaly.
  8. Can be abbreviated with FP.

Contra:

  1. Not everyone knows what free means as in FLOSS and not in beer.
  2. It does not explicitly tell that it is a full blown computer.

Alternatives:
freedom phone (FP, FreP, FreeP, FreePh)
phone of freedom (PF, PoF, PhoF)
Liberty Phone (LP, LiP, LiPh)
Libre Phone (LP, LiP, LiPh)
(Free) Pocket Desktop (FPD, PD, PoDe)
Privacy Phone (PP collistion with Pine Phone, PriP, PriPh)
private Phone (same as PP)
Pocket Interface (PI)
Wearable Desktop
Handy Desktop (HD, HaDe, this time the word handy comes pretty handy)
OwnComputer, OwnComp (OC, fine as it doesn’t become powned)
Property Phone
Holding Desktop (HD, HolD)
Estate Phone (EP)
Desktop at hand (DaH)
Master Controll Terminal (MCT) (Rockstargames should have build that into the virtual phone of GTA as an app.)
Le Che
Assange
Ghandi
Kofi
Librem d’Orleans
Asterix
Beathoven, Beat Hoven
Beato Phone
Arminius alias Herrmann (der Chirusker) (Battled the Romans 2k years go with success, )
Lucky Librem :slight_smile: (could become Purism’s mascot)

I am drifting away am I. :smiley: Some of those names would be better for a single model.

1 Like
118

I tried to create a poll with 57 options, but the forum only allows 20 options, so I combined some options. Let’s narrow down the top choices with this initial poll (you can select up to 3 options) and then we can have a subsequent poll with the exact term.

  • coco (convergent communicator) or cocophone
  • comphone
  • compuphone or CPhone (computer phone) or puterphone
  • fone (Free phONE) or freephone
  • GNU/Linux phone or GnuPhone or PocketGnu or GNU/Phonux
  • GPC (general purpose computer)
  • hand terminal or handyterm or handie-talkie (HT)
  • handheld commputer or handheld computer or handheld PC or handy computer
  • L5 or L5phone
  • libre phone (LP) or liberty phone (LP) or libre PC (LPC) or libreterm
  • lPhone (with lowercase L) or LiPhone
  • palmtop
  • pcphone
  • PDC (personal data communicator)
  • Phonux
  • PocketPC or pocketputer or PPC (personal pocket computer)
  • pocket desktop (PD) or free pocket desktop (FPD)
  • smarterphone
  • teletux
  • tricorder

0 voters

6 Likes
119

GPC (general purpose computer)

GPP (general purpose phone)

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I wonder why freephone is not ranked higher. Maybe it gets a little bit lost because it is written:
“fone (Free phONE) or freephone”
and not the other way around. It would be sad if a good option would not succeed because of that. Of course it may be simply because people prefer other options.

Anyway thank you for doing the work of creating the poll and I will accept whatever the choice of the community. :slight_smile:

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I did not vote for it, because I don’t think it’s a reasonable name. Nobody outside the GNU/Linux fanatics (like me) would know that “freephone” is not gratis. Such name just distracts from the actual point (the freedom) and forces to explain many times why it’s not actually free as beer. Purism chose Librem for a good reason, because it emphasizes that it’s not gratis (but very expensive instead).

2 Likes
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Yeah that’s true. I junk think freephone sounds better, but both mean the same, except the misinterpretation.